


A New Vibration

by abcooper



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 20:59:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7699132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abcooper/pseuds/abcooper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Birthday prompt fill! Kara loses her powers, Cat is intrigued.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Vibration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a_dot_burr_ell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dot_burr_ell/gifts).



> Happy happy birthday dear!! <3

“You know, this is getting to be something like a habit for us,” Kara remarked conversationally, raising her voice a little to be heard over the high-pitched whine of her laser eyes.

She couldn’t turn away from the villain to check - laser _eyes_ , after all - but she didn’t have to look to know that Cat was sneering at her in response. “Yes, you’re very witty, now either hang up the cape for a job in stand-up comedy or _get me out of here_ ,” she demanded.

Kara grinned. She thought that the muddiness of this particular hostage situation was probably wearing at Cat’s always-limited patience. Cat didn’t hesitate in the face of danger or deception, but Kara had never seen her get _dirty_ before. Swamp monsters were probably not her thing.

The swamp monster in question was rapidly drying up under the heat of Kara’s blast, mud turning to dirt that cracked in painful-looking chunks along its writhing form. She might have felt guilty, except that A - the thing had kidnapped Cat out of her car, and B - Alex was fairly certain its non-organic form couldn’t actually feel pain, no matter how things looked. The monster gave one last unholy screech and raised its arm in Kara’s direction.

Something shot out of its wrist and embedded itself in Kara’s skin with a sting, and she stumbled, crying out at the unexpected sensation - pain was a rare surprise. She gritted her teeth though and stayed focused - whatever had hurt her, it could wait just _one more moment_ …. The monster crumbled, just a pile of dirt on the ground.

Kara put a hand to her earpiece, tapping it on. “We have a clean-up in aisle 4,” she intoned.

“I don’t know who told you that you’re funny, but they were lying,” Alex shot back over the line. “Glad you’re OK, Supergirl. How’s Ms. Grant?”

That was a good question, Kara thought. It was suddenly hard to focus, for some reason, but she stumbled over to where Cat was tied up in the corner - to a chair, like a scooby-doo scene - to check. “Nobody’s laughing at my jokes today,” she answered Alex, or tried to… why was she on the floor? Well, it was comfortable down here anyways, though muddy. The room spun less when she was lying down.

Didn’t she have something she was supposed to be doing?

“I’ll untie you in just a moment, Ms Grant,” she mumbled, and her eyes closed.

**

When she opened them again later, everything was blurry for a moment, but she couldn’t even focus on that. She was distracted by the _oddest_ sensation all over her body, an invasive prickling kind of feeling…

“I’m itchy!” she placed it at last, reaching back for memories from another time.

“Well, you’re covered in mud,” came an amused voice to her left. Kara turned and saw Cat sitting in a chair by her bedside. “You’re also awake, I notice. Your sister will be glad. She’s a little high-strung for a government secret agent, isn’t she?” There were bags under her eyes, and she stood gingerly, as though she’d been sitting there long enough to go stiff.

“Ms. Grant!” Kara exclaimed, memories rushing back to her. Familiar walls gained their context  -she was in the DEO, Alex’s team must have brought her in after she’d passed out. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine - I consider myself thoroughly rescued, even if you did veer off right at the finishing line,” Cat smirked at her, and Kara smiled back, relieved. It did bring up the question of what Cat was _doing_ here, but Kara let that one go. It wasn’t unheard of for Cat to be at the DEO - once she’d received confirmation that Kara was Supergirl, she hadn’t hesitated to shove her way into every aspect of the secret. She’d just sort of shown up, at their secret office lair, at the DEO, at Kara’s apartment, rolling her eyes and demanding an inside scoop and occasionally offering helpful suggestions until they’d all caved to the sheer force of her personality and started including her.

That worry soothed, she moved to the next one on her priority list. “I haven’t been itchy in twelve years… I’ve blown my powers out again, haven’t I?”

“Not blown them out, exactly.” That was Alex, sweeping into the room at her usual brisk pace. “Good to see you awake - you’ve been out for about 16 hours.”

Kara couldn’t help grinning to see her, despite the dread invoked by Alex’s vague words. Having her sister reinstalled at the DEO, at her side again for every crisis, meant that things could only get so bad.

“You haven’t been _itchy_ since you got to Earth?” that was Cat’s incredulous voice. “What other sensations do your powers usually block? Can you feel hunger?”

“Oh, I can definitely feel hunger,” Kara muttered, as Alex gave a loud snort. “Just not, uh… external things, I guess? I mean, they register, I’d still _notice_ that I was covered in mud, but it wouldn’t irritate me. Rao this is awful, couldn’t someone have washed me off? I don’t know how you deal with things like this all the time.” She gave her sister a beseeching look. “What happened? I know using the lasers for an extended time is always a risk, but I thought I was being careful…”

“It’s not from solar flare this time. That mud-creature had a defense mechanism - it hit you with a poisonous dart. We’ve had scientists analyzing it, and it looks like the poison works by attacking cellular cohesion - if it had hit someone human, they’d have basically melted into a puddle. Your powers are protecting you, but the poison is interfering with the way your cells absorb solar radiation. It’s not doing you any harm, but we’re pretty sure you’re not going to be able to access your abilities again until the poison is completely out of your system.”

“How… how long is that going to take?” Kara asked, trying to keep her voice at an even pitch. It _couldn’t_ be permanent - Alex wouldn’t be telling her this so calmly if it was going to take long. And in fact, she was smiling reassuringly by the end of Kara’s question, reaching out a comforting hand.

“Well, that depends on the circumstances, really. If there was an emergency and the city _needed_ Supergirl, our medical team thinks they could put you on a dialysis machine and siphon the poison out of your system in about an hour. But there would be real risks associated with that, Kara - dialysis can be dangerous, and your system is already under stress fighting the poison. We wouldn’t dare add the additional stress of even a low-level of kryptonite and risk the poison becoming more effective, and we can’t predict how your powers would react when they came back while you were still under anaesthesia and hooked up to the machine.”

“What’s the other option?” Kara demanded.

“The doctors are recommending that if there are no major emergencies, you just wait it out. They think that at the rate your body is breaking down the poison, it’ll take just under a week for you to work it out of your system on your own.”

“A _week_ ?” Kara shot upright. “I can’t stay out of the field for an entire _week_ ! And what if something happens like last time - I couldn’t get to the DEO during the earthquake! If an emergency happens, the dialysis needs to already be _done_ already.”   
  
“Hey - the city survived that earthquake just fine, and it’ll survive without you for a week, Kara. If you damage yourself trying to rush things, you could be leaving us unprotected for a whole lot longer than that.” Alex was clearly speaking as an overprotective sister rather than an objective government agent. Kara resisted the urge to scream, taking a deep breath and marshaling her arguments.”

“Agent Danvers is right. It would be stupid to push this, Kiera,” that was Cat, speaking firmly from her chair. “Nothing can happen in one week that outweighs the good you’re going to do in years to come. That means swallowing your pride and prioritizing your health.”

“It’s not my….” Kara started hotly, and then swallowed it, because it _was_ her pride, partly. And it was something even pettier too, if she was being honest with herself - she didn’t want to deal with an entire week of being _itchy_ and _slow_ and feeling sick if she ate four cinnamon buns for breakfast. Being human was _uncomfortable._

There was no polite way to say that to the humans in the room, though, so she just forced herself to smile and said, “alright… I guess I get a week off from my night-job. I can catch up on my netflix.”

“Don’t count on it - being a junior editor is a lot more work when you don’t have superspeed,” Cat told her, and Alex snickered a little, looking deeply relieved.

“I think it’ll be good for you to spend some time seeing how the rest of us live,” she teased. “Ms. Grant has offered to give you a ride home, and you’re cleared to leave whenever you want to. Go enjoy your Sunday, get in some netflix while you can.”

Kara scratched miserably at her arms. “Do you think I could grab a quick shower first?”

**

The trip from the DEO back into National City took _much_ longer by car than by flight, and Kara spent most of it in silence, going through her work email on her phone and updating Cat where it was relevant. Cat was silent as well, which was unusual. More than once, Kara glanced over and caught Cat looking away from her, an unrecognizable expression on her face.

“Thank you for the ride home, and for being there when I woke up,” Kara finally said, feeling a little shy about it. Cat was so prickly, and if she thought you were getting too comfortable with her she was very likely to swat you back into your place, but Kara thought that in the aftermath of her promotion, they were beginning to be something like friends. Although no one had said, she suspected that Cat had waited the whole 16 hours at the DEO to make sure that Kara was OK. The thought warmed her.

“Hmm, well, as your unofficial PR representative, I feel I need to be present for these things,” Cat answered carelessly, and Kara beamed at her.

The sun was just coming up on Sunday morning as Cat found a parallel parking spot on Kara’s block, and Kara was startled to realize that the aching feeling in her joints was exhaustion. She thought wistfully of her bed. With an entire Sunday stretching ahead of her, it felt like there could be a few perks to being powerless for a little while - sleeping when you were genuinely _tired_ was a completely different experience from sleeping because you could see that it was dark out.

There were courtesies to take of first, though. “Would you like to come up for a cup of coffee before you go?” she asked Cat, and then thought it through and added hurriedly, “unless Carter is waiting for you, I wouldn’t want to take up any of your time with him…”

“No, he’s at his father’s for the weekend or I assure you, you’d have had to find a different ride home,” Cat answered. She was eyeing Kara thoughtfully. “I don’t suppose you have the equipment to make a decent latte in that ridiculous upcycled-decor apartment?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Kara assured her.

She left Cat distastefully eyeing her faded blue couch and set her kettle on the stove, pulling down the pour-over brewing cone from her cabinet and hoping that Cat wouldn’t come in and be outraged at how low-tech her promised coffee was.

She dumped a generous helping of coffee grounds into the filter and took a few deep breaths, waiting for the kettle to boil. When it did, she grabbed it unthinkingly, the same way she did every morning - and then dropped it again immediately with a shriek.

Why did the handle of her kettle get _hot_? Wasn’t that a design flaw!?

“You’ll want to run that under cold water,” Cat advised from behind her, and Kara jumped.

“Thanks,” she muttered, turning on her tap and sticking her hand under it just to be obliging, although she didn’t think she’d actually burned herself. Cat gave it a moment and then wrapped a hand around Kara’s wrist, pulling her forward and examining her hand with a critical eye.

“You’re fine,” she said. “I can see that your superpowers have been the only thing saving you from the fact that you’re an enormous klutz.”

“That’s… accurate, yeah,” Kara admitted. Cat hadn’t let go of her wrist - in fact, her fingers were absently stroking the skin. Kara’s eyes were drawn to it as she absorbed the sensation… soothing, almost ticklish. Cat followed her eyes to where she was looking, but she didn’t stop or draw back. Instead, she took her other hand and ran a finger lightly up Kara’s forearm, stopping at the inside of her elbow.

Kara shuddered.

“So…” Cat murmured. “Your powers block sensation. That must have its drawbacks, Supergirl,” she was standing very, very close.

Kara didn’t answer the question, didn’t admit that part of why her relationships always petered out was that her partners seemed to be getting something out of the bedroom that she wasn’t, that she’d left Krypton on the cusp of puberty and hadn’t truly _felt_ another person’s touch since, that among all the multitudinous elements and dimensions of her grief, there had been the pang of wondering what it might have felt like to be fragile in another person’s arms.

Instead she just said, “what are you suggesting, Ms. Grant?” and was shocked at how breathless and husky her own voice sounded, turning her question into something far bolder than she’d initially intended.

Cat didn’t look as though she minded, her mouth curving appreciatively. But then, Kara already knew that Cat liked her brazen. “I’m not so much suggesting something as offering something,” Cat answered, and then drew back a little, letting go of Kara’s arm at last. “I want to be clear, if you turn me down it will have no effect on you at work. It won’t even have an effect on our friendship. There’s no pressure here, Kara,” Cat was examining her face very carefully as she spoke, and Kara returned the favor, searching Cat’s incredible brown eyes and finding a hint of apprehension in them.

“I don’t want to say no,” she admitted, because she didn’t - not to what she thought Cat was offering, and not to the person offering it.

“Good,” Cat said, and stepped forward, pressing Kara up against the counter with her body, “because I haven’t stopped thinking about this since you woke up complaining about mud, of all things,” she leaned in and nipped lightly at Kara’s neck, right below her ear, and Kara squeaked, heat rushing through her body. “I want to drive you _crazy_ ,” she said, and Kara had no doubt that she could.

“Please…” she breathed, and leaned forward to capture Cat’s lips with her own. For a moment Cat went stiff and Kara froze, because maybe she’d overstepped, maybe Cat had only meant… but then soft lips were moving against hers, and Cat’s hands came up to run through her hair, tugging at it just a little as she nipped at Kara’s lower lip, and then ran her fingernails down Kara’s neck.

Kara gasped and tried to return the favor, because Rao, she’d had no idea that the little things lovers did were supposed to send shivers down your spine. She wrapped her arms around Cat, instinctively checking her strength until she remembered that she didn’t _have_ to. She dug her fingernails into Cat’s shoulders hard, just because she _could_ , and Cat made a desperate sound against her mouth and pressed her thigh between Kara’s legs, grinding it upward in retaliation and using her tongue to ruthless advantage when Kara’s mouth fell open in frantic response.

She didn’t pull back until Kara’s lungs were _burning_ with the need for air, and that was a new sensation as well. Kara rested her forehead against Cat’s and took deep breaths, conscious suddenly that her back hurt where the counter had been digging into it.

“Could we move this to my bedroom?” she suggested, and felt shy all over again, but Cat’s eyes darkened appreciatively as she responded, “that is an _excellent_ idea,” and pulled Kara with her into the hallway.

They didn’t make it far before Cat pushed her up against the wall and attacked her mouth again, and that was better than the counter, at least, but now that she’d thought of it she wanted Cat in her _bed_ , so she did her best to maneuver them around the flood of sensation, getting through the doorway with a gasp as Cat scraped teeth along her throat. Cat walked them forward and then gave a sudden, sharp shove that landed Kara on her bed, and wasted no time in straddling her lap.

“Arms up,” she demanded, and pulled Kara’s t-shirt over her head in a smooth, practiced motion. “Well,” she said, eyes raking appreciatively down newly revealed skin, “I can see that the power blowout hasn’t had any ill effect on your abs.”

She wrapped her arms around Kara’s shoulders and made her way down her neck, teeth and tongue creating a path until she reached Kara’s collarbone, when she reached around to expertly unhook Kara’s bra, slipping the fabric over Kara’s arms and out from between them.

“This, oh, seems a little unfair,” Kara got out, tugging pointedly at Cat’s silk blouse. Cat leaned back to give herself enough space and undid her buttons with no ceremony, shrugging the shirt off her shoulders and tossing it onto the floor behind her as though it wasn’t probably

Kara took a moment to just stare, because clearly every dollar spent on Cat’s expensive personal trainer had been very worth it. Golden skin, bearing the stretch marks of childbirth and the first signs of age, dipped into sensuous curves around Cat’s hipbones, then went taut over her muscled stomach before it led up to small perfect breasts encased in delicate black lace.

“God, you’re _gorgeous_ ,” Kara breathed, and then blushed because that was a little sappier than the tone they’d set so far, but Cat looked pleased, and Kara knew her well enough to know that she never minded being admired.

She pressed imperiously against Kara’s shoulders until Kara obeyed the hint and laid down. 

  
“I’m never averse to compliments, but I think we’re focused on you right now, Supergirl,” she said, and followed Kara down to the mattress, placing delicate kisses along Kara’s collarbone before moving downward, a slow trail of heat that was igniting something entirely new inside her.

She gave a breathless laugh and squirmed away as Cat kissed her stomach, unable to name the twisting sensation it caused, but not sure it was entirely pleasant, and Cat raised her head to smirk at her. “Ticklish?” she asked wickedly.

“I guess so,” Kara admitted, voice going a little strangled on the end as Cat ran an evil tongue up from her belly button.

“Hmmm… we’ll come back to that,” Cat said, and instead ran her thumbs along the underside of Kara’s breasts, before taking a nipple between her teeth, rolling it lightly along her tongue while clever fingers pinched the other one, sending liquid heat between Kara’s thighs.

Kara whimpered, arms coming around without permission to clutch at the back of Cat’s head in a wordless request for her to continue. Cat did, fingers and tongue wringing endless new response out of Kara’s body.

“I had no idea it could feel like this,” Kara admitted, arching helplessly against Cat’s mouth in search of _more_ , and Cat made a low approving sound deep in her throat, pulling back.

“Oh, Kara… we’re just getting started. I’m going to make you _scream_ ,” Cat told her. She made her way back down Kara’s stomach, her touches firm and purposeful and Kara didn’t feel like laughing this time, felt almost like she couldn’t find the air to breathe anymore as Cat approached the apex of her thighs.

“Pay attention Kara, nothing between you and this…” Cat murmured, and at the first swipe of her tongue Kara lost control entirely, bucking her hips and grasping at her sheets. Cat’s fingers dug into her hips, holding her down as she circled Kara’s clit with her tongue. Ragged broken sounds escaped as Kara’s first orgasm washed over her, muscles spasming in ways that she’d never experienced, had had no _idea_ that she could feel -

Cat didn’t stop, her tongue gently urging Kara along as she refused to let Kara down from her high, and then she brought a hand down from Kara’s hips and lightly circled Kara’s entrance with a finger before pressing in.

Kara did scream then, she’d had no doubt that Cat would make good on that promise, and her neighbors might complain later but she was far beyond caring. She couldn’t do anything but clutch her wrinkled sheets and hang on as Cat added another finger, crooking them inside her to hit some part of her that felt like electricity, even as her tongue kept moving, focusing now on her clit in demanding little strokes. Kara could feel her second orgasm building, something deeper and slower than the first that left her panting and helpless, and when it hit her she gave herself over to it entirely, vision blacking for a moment as she clenched around Cat’s fingers.

Cat rode her through it and then pulled out, giving a last gentle stroke of her tongue as though she were reluctant to pull away. Her face glistened with wetness, and she took a moment to suck her fingers into her mouth, apparently relishing Kara’s taste.

“Well, performance review?” she asked smugly, straddling Kara’s stomach.

“Gnuh,” Kara answered, and then pulled herself together enough to add, “you’re amazing. I think I actually passed out. I know my experience is limited, but that has to have been exceptionally good, right?”

Cat smirked. “I might be a little more practiced at it than your usual range of muscled millennial fratboys,” she allowed. She was still sitting on Kara’s stomach, her compact form a comfortable weight against her,  but Kara suddenly realized that she could feel moisture along her stomach, that everything they’d just done had turned Cat on… the thought sent sparks shooting through her.

“Can I return the favor?” she asked, and then honesty forced her to add, “I might need a few minutes before I can move my legs.”

Cat laughed, a warm real sound that delighted Kara in a different way altogether. She leaned in and kissed Kara again, an easy open-mouthed gesture, comfortable and effortlessly sexy. “You don’t have to move at all,” she murmured teasingly against Kara’s lips, “I’ll come to you.”

Before Kara could ask what she meant Cat shifted, pulling her skirt and tights off in what would have been a graceless motion from someone less poised. She moved up Kara’s body, hands against the wall behind them for balance as she straddled Kara’s face. Kara got the idea in a jolt of heat, reaching up to wrap her arms around Cat’s legs as she arranged them both to get the right angle.

Cat was soaked, wet curls and liquid-coated thighs, and Kara could only stare for a moment, a little awestruck. It hit her suddenly that she wanted to keep doing this to Cat when her powers were back, that she wasn’t willing to just let this go and be grateful for what she’d had. She bit down possessively on Cat’s inner thigh, hard enough to leave a bruise, to make sure Cat couldn’t just pretend tomorrow that this hadn’t happened. The noise Cat made in response was _incredible_ , and she responded grinding down against Kara’s mouth so that Kara had to grip her thighs hard to keep the angle she wanted.

“God, do that again, Kara, _again,”_ she sobbed, and Kara obeyed, alternating sharp teeth and gentle tongue until meaningless sounds of desperation were being drawn out of Cat in a continuous flow.

She’d been very patient, Kara decided, and ran her tongue in a merciful stroke down Cat’s center. Cat shuddered above her and Kara almost moaned in response. She’d never really liked doing this before - she hadn’t minded it exactly, it had just been a little… clinical. It certainly wasn’t clinical now, with the memory of electric sensation still fresh in her aching muscles. She abandoned old techniques, trying to copy the things Cat had done with her tongue that had felt best. It seemed to work as Cat writhed, grinding down against Kara’s mouth so hard that it kind of hurt, so that Kara was just hanging on for the ride, pressing her tongue up in hard thrusts as Cat rocked against her, panting. She could feel Cat’s orgasm overtake her in the way that her thighs clenched around Kara’s head as she shuddered. She gentled her tongue, trying to ease Cat back from it slowly, and after a moment Cat went limp, leaning against the wall to catch her breath before she got up and rearranged herself against Kara’s side.

“Well…. You certainly have some skills beyond just your superpowers.” she said, and Kara kissed her in response, wondering for a moment if it would be her last opportunity to do so. Would Cat just leave now? Find her skirt and head out the door like all she’d done was give Kara a ride home and help her make coffee?

She didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Instead she kissed Kara back, a lazy pleased motion, and made herself comfortable with Kara’s shoulder as a pillow. She ran her hand gently through Kara’s hair, a soothing repetitive motion, and the sex had been great but this was nice too, something her lovers had always wanted to do that she’d never truly understood before… she hadn’t known how much emotion there could be in just touching.

She wanted to savor the moment, but her earlier exhaustion caught up and overtook her. Her eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off.

**

When she woke up, Cat was staring at her. Her eyes were dark and thoughtful, and Kara smiled, just glad that she’d stayed.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Cat answered, raising an eyebrow slightly in mockery. Kara leaned forward and kissed her, crossing her fingers that she was still allowed to do so. She was relieved when Cat allowed it, kissing her back lightly before pulling away.

“You know, I was promised a latte a while back, Kara Danvers. I hope losing your powers isn’t going to make you a shoddy employee,” she said loftily. “I wouldn’t mind something to eat, either, if you own something besides leftover takeout.” As if on cue, Kara’s stomach rumbled, and Cat rolled her eyes expressively.

“I, uh…. could order fresh take-out?” Kara suggested, taking guilty stock of her fridge.

“Ugh… get up. We’ll go out, there must be a decent salad somewhere in this neighborhood,” Cat decided, standing to look for her skirt.

“Cat, wait,” Kara blurted, grabbing her hand. Cat looked at her, eyebrows raised, and Kara screwed up her courage. “Can we do this again?” she asked, and then hastened to clarify, “I mean, not just because my powers are out, and not just because the sex was good. I mean, it _was_ really good, but -” Cat reached out and put a gentle hand on Kara’s jaw, closing her mouth.

“Yes, Kara, we can do this again,” she answered firmly. “But only if I get something organic to eat within the next fifteen minutes.”

It wasn’t anything like a promise. In fact, Cat might have only meant that they could have round two. But Kara couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as she rummaged in her drawer for clean pants, and when she glanced over, she saw that Cat was smiling too.


End file.
